O’Connor, Kevin J.; Renfro, Hannah L.; Briggs, Adam C. --- "Interaction of Public and Private Enforcement" [2010] ELECD 753; in Foer, A. Albert; Cuneo, W. Jonathan (eds), "The International Handbook on Private Enforcement of Competition Law" (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2010)

Book Title: The International Handbook on Private Enforcement of Competition Law

Editor(s): Foer, A. Albert; Cuneo, W. Jonathan

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

ISBN (hard cover): 9781848448773

Section: Chapter 13

Section Title: Interaction of Public and Private Enforcement

Author(s): O’Connor, Kevin J.; Renfro, Hannah L.; Briggs, Adam C.

Number of pages: 24

Extract:

13 Interaction of public and private enforcement
Kevin J. O'Connor, Hannah L. Renfro and
Adam C. Briggs1


Introduction
One of the unique features of the American system of antitrust enforcement is the mul-
tiplicity of potential plaintiffs, governmental and private, authorized to challenge alleg-
edly unlawful conduct under federal and state antitrust law.2 Not only do the United
States Department of Justice (DOJ) and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) maintain
overlapping antitrust enforcement authority,3 but other federal agencies also possess
the authority to block business transactions in certain industrial sectors.4 In addition,
state attorneys general and private plaintiffs are empowered to sue under federal and
state antitrust law. Although similar to their federal equivalent, state antitrust laws often
present potential plaintiffs with remedies beyond those obtainable under federal law.5
In short, the United States antitrust enforcement system has evolved into a system
including multiple enforcers, each possessing concurrent enforcement authority: two
federal antitrust agencies, other federal agencies reviewing industry-specific transac-
tions, fifty state attorneys general, and thousands of private parties. However, except for
certain non-antitrust federal agencies, all federal litigants operate in an integrated federal
court system under a single body of federal precedent.6 Even most state antitrust laws


1
Kevin J. O'Connor is a shareholder with Godfrey & Kahn, S.C., and chairs the firm's
Antitrust and Trade Regulation Practice Group. Before joining Godfrey & Kahn, O'Connor
headed the Wisconsin Department of Justice's Office of Consumer Protection and Antitrust. While
...